Gyeongju: North Korea on Saturday condemned the idea of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula as an unattainable “pipe dream,” as discussions on the topic are anticipated to be part of the agenda during an upcoming summit between South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Lee and Xi are set to meet for their first summit talks on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju. The presidential office has confirmed that denuclearization will be a significant topic of discussion.
North Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Pak Myong-ho, through a statement via the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), criticized South Korea for persistently bringing up denuclearization. He stated, “We will show with patience that denuclearization is a ‘pipe dream’ which can never be realized even if it talks about it a thousand times.”
Pak further asserted that South Korea’s attempts to challenge North Korea’s status as a nuclear weapons state and its aspirations for denuclearization reflect a lack of common sense. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is North Korea’s official name, and the statement emphasizes North Korea’s firm stance on maintaining its nuclear capabilities.
The North’s statement seems to not only oppose South Korea’s presidential office announcement regarding the denuclearization agenda but also to express discomfort with China over the matter, especially ahead of the Lee-Xi summit.
In a related event last year, North Korea rejected a joint declaration on denuclearization made by South Korea, China, and Japan, labeling it as “wanton interference” in its internal affairs.